Presentation Cane

Charles Edenshaw is perhaps the best known and most accomplished of all Haida artists of the historic period. His works are known for their superb artistry and craftsmanship, and both his creations and extensive knowledge of Haida traditions were eagerly sought by museums and anthropologists. These canes are three of perhaps a dozen elaborate versions he is known to have produced over a 25-year period. Most were made for presentation or as gifts to important and respected officials and dignitaries.

All three canes feature finely carved whale ivory handles set into engraved silver ferrules. The two outer canes date from Edenshaw's later period (ca. 1900-1910) and include geometric designs that transition into crabapple wood shafts carved with spiral snakes and abalone-inlaid branch nubs. The handle of the cane on the left depicts a well known Haida myth- the story of Raven discovering Mankind in a clamshell-while the handle on the right is carved with shamanistic imagery. An earlier version (ca. 1885) in the center portrays a human hand holding a whale; here, the image of a sea lion rather than snakes wraps around the shaft.